In a market of ever-growing international hotel brands, Spicers Retreats stands alone as a home-grown boutique hotel that provides its guests with a quintessentially Australian experience.

Founder Jude Turner is a well-travelled, outdoorsy type, and she set out to combine her love of the Australian landscape, with great food and excellent wine. Her latest offering in the Hunter Valley is her 9th and most spirited property.

Katherine Young is the Head Interior Designer at Spicers Retreats and was meticulously involved in bringing Jude’s latest dream to life. Jo Street sat down with Katherine to learn more about how this once weary property was transformed into a luxurious, well-appointed retreat.

Spicers Guesthouse, Hunter Valley

JO: Let’s start from the beginning, who are you and who is Spicers Retreats?

KATHERINE: I am the Lead Designer and Project Manager for the in-house design team at Spicers Retreats. Spicers Retreats is a luxury boutique experiential hotel business with 9 unique retreats across Southeast Queensland, and the Hunter Valley, Blue Mountains and Sydney in New South Wales. From the moment you arrive at one of our retreats it becomes clear – Spicers Retreats are not just different, but truly special. The Spicers experience is one that combines stunning natural settings, award winning dining experiences, and our warm and attentive service to deliver an experience unlike any other in Australia.

JO: What attracted Spicers Retreats to the sprawling 80s guesthouse in the Hunter Valley?

KATHERINE: To put it very succinctly – its’ legacy and its’ role in the history of the Hunter Valley. We were excited to be able to reinstate the grandeur and to preserve the story of the Guesthouse for locals and guests to enjoy.  

JO: What was your brief to the architects Cottee Parker?

KATHERINE: The architect’s brief was to make this the best destination in the Hunter Valley by enhancing and honouring the property’s identity as the first ‘guesthouse’ of the region. The focus was ensuring guests felt as if they were staying at a warm, welcoming home and not a generic hotel.

This concept inspired an interior driven by intimate textures and tactile finishes. The colour palette was chosen to enhance the original sandstone walls. The scheme is predominantly a neutral base of timber and stone punctuated by rich, deep, ink tones and subtle metallic accents.

 JO: How does the refurbishment express the Spicers luxury boutique brand?

KATHERINE: Each of our retreats has been lovingly created to allow guests to experience the natural beauty of its wonderful location in subtle and understated luxury. We like to call it ‘relaxed luxury’. It’s not just about a comfortable bed and furnishings, personalized service and great food; it’s about the feeling of being renewed and reinvigorated by the environment itself. 

We are driven by a strong focus on quality – quality of space and quality in design. These concepts force us to consider the emotional connection and the experience our guests have when they interact with the Spicers brand. Quality space, in a physical sense, creates an atmosphere of restfulness and focus. It allows our guests to stop and pause to experience a moment, however they feel most comfortable. When we reference quality in design our objective is aimed towards materials and design elements that when cared for and looked after are built to last!

JO: The fitout is exquisite and enhances the natural landscape. I’m biased of course, but the furnishings complement the architecture perfectly. You worked very closely with Furn-Niche to achieve your vision. What was the brief to FN? And what are some of the key pieces that express this?

KATHERINE: The brief for the interior fitout to Furn-Niche was about making our guests feel like they were in a 'home not a hotel', to reflect the local region of the Hunter Valley through texture, tone and material selection, ensure a high level of functionality and simplicity and that the overall furniture concept felt unique, personal and of a high quality finish.

• The custom leather armchairs in the rooms brought a sense of character and warmth.
• The side tables created a dual purpose and function of desk and coffee table
• The local imagery used in the artwork in the rooms referenced the region
• The stone and metal accents in the furniture brought both depth and dimension to the timber and white brick walls in the rooms.
• The custom bedside lights were also a perfect piece that brought several material elements and of course are extremely functional
• The local craftsman making the boardroom table brings another layer to the story

 JO: There is a huge variety of room types sprawling over 3 buildings, obviously requiring a very bespoke approach. I know we worked very closely with you to ensure every detail was captured on floor plans, inventories and design presentations. But how else did you manage this?

KATHERINE: Yes, we were very conscious of the amount of spaces, especially the room types, we were working with from the outset of the project. We started with a thorough in-depth needs analysis of each room type for the guests so we could really define the intention of use. Once we knew exactly what functions needed to be catered for in each space, we worked with the Furn-Niche design team’s knowledge and experience to create a furniture suite that met both the functional requirements and aesthetic brief. Planning and a clear concept were the key!

JO: What were some of the complexities of the refurbishment and how did you overcome this?

KATHERINE: With any of our projects at Spicers Retreats quality and guest experience are non-negotiables. Refurbishments of any nature are usually complex, expensive and full of compromise. We were dealing with a building that had many “extensions” over its lifetime and were continually uncovering surprises. The three guest accommodation buildings were all refurbished within the existing floor plan which as you might expect for a building of its time - included some awkward layouts. We resolved this by using built in joinery items and designing furniture that allowed for both practical, functional solutions in every room layout to ensure the guest rooms felt calm, logical and restful.

JO: What are you most proud of?

KATHERINE: Apart from just completing the project – in terms of the scale of building work this the largest project Spicers Retreats have undertaken. I am continually proud to see guests come in and experience the reopened property. It was a lovely moment to see each of the spaces we had designed being used by guests in the intended way – Work groups gathering by the fire pits and sharing a drink on the terrace lounges, a couple sharing a bottle of wine in the armchairs next to the fireplace, a group of friends meeting at the bar before sitting down to dinner.

It is a pleasure to be both the designer and ultimately the end user of a project. I get to see the full life cycle of a project from concept to completion and beyond. This exposure gives me some great insights and learnings - it is very rewarding!

JO: What’s next for Spicers Retreats? What are you working on?

KATHERINE: Currently the team and I are working on three major projects. These projects include the rebuild of the reincarnation of our 100 year old homestead at Spicers Hiddenvale (which we tragically lost in a fire in 2018), an addition of a 6 room standalone extension at Spicers Clovelly Estate in Montville and several Eco Camps (sleeping pods and common pavilion) that are a completely off grid product that will be located in the QLD National Parks and will form a part of the new five day “Scenic Rim Trail” walking product – which guests can book now for 2020!!  

JO: Well congratulations Katherine, and thank you for inviting Furn-Niche to work with you on the Spicers Guesthouse fit-out. The whole Furn-Niche team were so privileged to come and stay for the opening weekend, and experience first hand the joys of sharing a drink in that legendary fire pit!

Click here to visit the Spicers Retreats Hunter Valley website

Click here to visit the Furn-Niche website

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